Farewell, Feeny
by Wllflwr98
Summary: Mr. Feeny, after over 40 years of teaching, makes the decision to officially retire. As the gang rounds up with many of Mr. Feeny's close friends at his retirement party, many of which are former students of his, Cory feels influenced to make a life-changing decision. (NOTE: While I chose not to makes this a crossover, one character from Girl Meets World is introduced in the story)
1. Chapter 1

_**In this story, readers will find out two things: how Cory decided to become a teacher and how the Matthews met Mrs. Svorski, the Ukrainian baker from Girl Meets World. Please let me know what you think of the story by posting a review below, I would greatly appreciate it! Thanks for reading! **_

**Chapter 1**

Dark grey clouds crowded the skies above New York City that Tuesday morning in mid-July, raindrops loudly pounding against the apartment and diminishing any other background noises. Raindrops streaked down the windows like turbulent waterfalls, blurring the views of the dreary city and watery roads below.

The only lights that were able to penetrate through the storm were the cozy, yellow glows coming from the windows of neighboring apartment buildings, the colorful flashes of traffic lights that reflected off of the flooded streets, and the occasional, white flickering of a plane's navigation light above the skyscrapers.

Meanwhile, Cory, Topanga, and Shawn were lounging on the couch, enjoying their morning routine of drinking coffee and watching Good Morning America! before Shawn and Topanga headed out for their shift at McDonald's. Since Cory had broken his foot during their first week in New York, Topanga had begun two-part time jobs in between her internship at the law firm. She had faired well so far, but in her opinion, the only thing that kept her sane was working in the relaxing atmosphere of Mrs. Svorski's Ukrainian bakery.

Topanga had discovered Svorski's Bakery a few days after Cory had broken his foot, when she had wandered inside order to escape a sudden downpour of rain. As she had collapsed into a booth, her head falling into her hands as she felt burdened by the stress of becoming the sole provider for herself and Cory, she heard someone slide into the chair across from her. Looking up, her eyes met the soft, kind, wrinkled eyes of an elderly woman.

A blue cloth was tied around her head like a headband, keeping back her blonde hair, which was pulled back into a bun at the time. She wore a colorful blouse covered in little, white, flower-like designs, along with an apron that matched the color of her headband.

"Is everything alright?" she asked gently, reaching out and softly touching Topanga's arm.

Topanga, startled by this random action of concern and kindness, straightened up and politely smiled at the woman. "Oh, I'm fine...who are you?"

"I'm Mrs. Svorski, and this is my Ukrainian bakery." She stretched out her arms and motioned around the room. The first thing Topanga noticed was how homey the place was, as lamps cozily lit the bakery instead of blinding overhead lights and multiple picture frames of sweetly smiling people hung on the walls.

"Come, now," Mrs. Svorski slowly rose from the booth and motioned for Topanga to follow her as she went behind a counter filled with all sorts tasty-looking pastries. She began to fix two cups of tea as she continued, "I sense there's something that is troubling you. What's the matter?"

Topanga was surprised to see that this woman was actually interested in her troubles, so she began to tell her about the rough start she and Cory had gotten off to in New York City. During the hour that she chatted with Mrs. Svorski, she felt relieved of all kinds of stress that had been weighing down on her shoulders.

When the rain finally stopped and she looked at her watch, Topanga realized she was very late to her shift at a coffee shop nearby. Sure enough, just as she had predicted, she was fired when she arrived there an hour late. However. that was completely fine by her, as she picked up the best job she had ever had, working alongside Mrs. Svorski in the afternoons.

Anyways, that was the first huge blessing that had been granted to Cory and Topanga during their first few weeks in New York, as the Svorski's Bakery even proved useful to Cory; in order to avoid boredom, he spent many an afternoon at the bakery during Topanga's shift, enjoying Mrs. Svorski's delicious pastries and cups of hot, flavorful tea.

Meanwhile, Shawn and Topanga had risen from the couch as Good Morning America! went on commercial break, beginning to tie their ties and put on their vests as they prepared for their shift together at McDonald's. Cory had hobbled on his crutches into the kitchen with them, grabbing a red marker and marking off another day on the calendar that hung on the fridge.

"One more week, and I can take off this stupid, sweaty cast!" Cory shouted ecstatically, pumping his fist into the air.

"Then you can finally take my place at that grease-hole-of-a-restaurant." Topanga remarked in disgust as she pulled her ponytail through her McDonald's hat.

"Nuh-uh, Topanga, you can keep McDonald's. I'm takin' over your shift at Mrs. Svorski's place." Cory slyly grinned at Topanga.

Topanga laughed a fake, snappy laugh. "Nice try, bud, but I'll break your other foot before I let you steal my job at Svorski's."

Cory chuckled under his breath, as he enjoyed teasing his wife when it came to working at McDonald's. She absolutely _hated_ that place and wouldn't be caught dead eating a BigMac.

Turning his attention to scanning through their mail (another morning routine of his), Cory discovered a letter from Mr. Feeny.

"Hey, look," he held up the envelope before slicing it open, "here's one from Feeny."

Cory began to scan through the letter silently to himself:

"Dear friends,

I hope my letter finds all of you in good health and in positive spirits. Like always, Lila and I miss you all, and we look forward to your next visit.

Summer classes have nearly wrapped up here at Pennbrook, and as I reflect back on the summer, I feel something has changed in my life. The last 15 years have been some of the most challenging, yet extremely gratifying, years I have spent teaching, and I owe that to the fact that I have been teaching you all. While I have come to know and love many students during my 40 years of educating others, I have never felt such satisfaction and reward in teaching them as I have in teaching you all.

Now that my time of educating all of you has passed, teaching has taken on an empty, and somewhat pointless, feeling, making me realize that it is now truly time for me to retire.

My retirement party will be held next week on Thursday from 6:00PM until 10:00PM, and Amy and Alan have kindly offered to host it at their house. I hope to see you all there as we celebrate the best 43 years of my life.

Yours truly,

Mr. Feeny..."

The greatest man Cory knew was finally sitting down the books for a well-earned retirement. He couldn't think of anyone else in the world who deserved it more than Mr. Feeny.

"I had a feeling this day was coming soon..." Cory began, thoughtfully smiling to himself as his eyes were still fixed on the letter.

"What?" Topanga and Shawn expectantly stared at Cory, a look of panic showing in their eyes.

"Mr. Feeny is retiring."


	2. Chapter 2

_Alan hurried down the stairs on one sunny Saturday morning, pulling out a chair at the kitchen table and sitting down at the table with his family. He seemed particularly chipper and intent on getting his children's attention. _

_"Your mother and I would like you all to come with us to meet the new neighbor." Alan said._

_"We got a new neighbor?" Four-year old Cory loudly responded. "What happened to our old one?"_

_"He moved away, so now we've got him." Alan pointed out the backdoor, attracting the Matthews' attention to an older gentlemen of short stature with greying hair and large glasses, his eyebrows furrowed into a scowl as he bent over to pick up a cardboard box. _

_"He looks old and grouchy." Seven-year old Eric remarked dismissively, turning his attention back to his breakfast._

_"Eric, shame on you!" Amy scolded. "You haven't even met him yet, he could be a very friendly man."_

_"Doubt it. He looks like a teacher. Teachers are always grouchy." Eric shot back._

_"That's enough." Amy said, collecting empty plates as she stood up from the table. "I don't wanna hear any of your rude comments when we go outside to meet him." _

_A few minutes later, the Matthews walked up to the fence that separated the two backyards as they prepared to welcome their new neighbor._

_"Hello, what can I do for you all?" the man said with a warm grin as he approached the fence. _

_"We'd just like to introduce ourselves." Alan said, reaching out his hand as the man crossed the fence. "I'm Alan, and this is Amy, Eric, and Cory." _

_The man eagerly shook Alan's hand, sayings "I'm George Feeny." _

_"Nice to meet you, George." Amy said, shaking his hand as well. "Where are you from?" _

_"I just moved here from Pittsburgh." Mr. Feeny smiled friendly, rocking on his heels a little as he placed his hands in the pockets of his trousers._

_"What brings you here? You've got some family that lives in Philly, or a change of job, or...?" Alan asked._

_Mr. Feeny seemed to hesitate a little before answering. "My wife Lillian just passed away a short while ago, so I thought I could use a change of scenery." He said solemnly._

_"Oh, I'm so sorry." Amy said sympathetically._

_"I'm sorry to hear that, my condolences to you." Alan added._

_"It's been quite hard, but life continues to move on." Mr. Feeny's smile seemed to show gratitude in their sympathy towards him._

_"So, what do you do for a living, George?" Alan asked._

_"Well, I am a-"_

_"Are you a teacher?" little Cory suddenly interrupted._

_Amy rolled her eyes and shot a glance at Eric, angered at the fact that his dumb remarks and ideas often rubbed off on the young, easily-influenced Cory._

_Mr. Feeny smiled, however, and bent down on one knee, his kind eyes now level to Cory's innocent eyes. "Why, yes, I am."_

_"Told ya." Eric said to his mom, running off and dribbling his basketball to go play a game of hoops at his friend's house._

_"How old are you, Cory?" Mr. Feeny kindly asked._

_"I'm four." Cory said, holding up five tiny fingers._

_Mr. Feeny smiled, correcting Cory by pushing his thumb into his palm to even out the number of fingers. "Well, then I guess I'll be seeing you in kindergarten in the fall, won't I?" _

_"I guess so." Cory replied, looking into the eyes of his teacher. _

"And little did I know that that man would be so much more than a neighbor, or even a teacher to me..." Cory told the story of his first meeting with Mr. Feeny to Eric, Shawn, and Topanga with enthusiasm as they drove down to Philadelphia for Feeny's retirement.

As Cory began to finish his sentence, he suddenly became solemn and serious, wearing a thoughtful, soft smile as he said, "He became the best role model for me that I could ever ask for."

"That's a great story, Cor." Shawn said rather nonchalantly, his head laid back as he stared at the ceiling of the car.

"Yes, it was, honey," Topanga said, keeping her eyes focused on the road as she drove, "But maybe next time, you could-"

"That was the longest, most boring story I've ever HEARD!" Eric's voice rose in agitation with nearly every word of his sentence, finishing with a loud shout. "A story that was short enough to take up just _five minutes_ ended up taking _2 HOURS_!"

"You know, Cor, I _was_ gonna tell _my _story of the first time I met Mr. Feeny, but considering the fact that we just passed my old trailer park, I don't think I would have enough time..." Shawn growled.

Cory's face contracted into an expression of disgust, shocked that his friends didn't appreciate his story. "You all are despicable." He hissed in his dramatic fashion, glaring at them. "Here I am, putting my _heart and soul_ into this story, and you all just scoff at it and mock me! Ya ungrateful jerks..."

Topanga rolled her eyes at her husband's drama, turning into the driveway of Amy and Alan's house as their road trip reached a conclusion.

"FINALLY!" Eric screeched, bursting out of the car immediately after it pulled to a stop. "Never, _ever_ again will I ride with him, _NEVER_!" Eric pointed at Cory, giving him a wide-eyed, death stare.

"They're here!" Amy said ecstatically, standing on the back patio and holding Joshua on her hip.

She placed Joshua on the ground, and he immediately took off after his big brother, who scooped him up in his arms.

"Joshua!" He said in a playful tone, giving him a big kiss on the cheek. "How ya been, baby bro?"

Joshua grinned, showing off his baby teeth that were coming in. Eric walked by and began to get up in his face, cooing at his baby brother in a goofy manner.

"Hey, Joshua!" Topanga interrupted Eric's obnoxious baby-talk with her sweet, high-pitched baby-talk, taking her turn in holding him and giving him a kiss. "Whose my favorite brother-in-law?"

"Me!" Eric shouted, his hand shooting up into the air.

"It's so good to see all of you!" Amy said, hugging them as they set their luggage down in the kitchen.

A fresh batch of chocolate chip cookies sat on the kitchen counter, filling the room with a sweet, welcoming scent that spelled out "home." Mrs. Feeny was sitting at the kitchen table, watching with a smile as everyone greeted each other.

"I just took some cookies out of the oven that I made especially for your homecoming, and I have some fresh sheets on the bed in the guest room for you and Topanga." Amy addressed Cory cheerfully, very happy to have everyone back home.

"Mmmm..." Cory began to stuff a warm cookie into his mouth, propping his foot up on a chair as he took a seat at the table. "And what's for dinner?" He asked excitedly.

"Your favorite, chicken tenders and Mac n' Cheese!" Amy said, smiling at her son.

"Ohhohohh..." Cory seemed very satisfied, raising his cookie to his mom in approval.

"Hi, Mrs. Feeny, how are you?" Topanga said politely, sitting next to Cory.

"I'm very well, thank you. How was the drive up here?" Mrs. Feeny said.

"It was great, thank you." Topanga replied. "Where's Mr. Feeny?"

"He's at Pennbrook, teaching his last class of the summer semester." Mrs. Feeny said.

"Hey, guys." Shawn said slyly, seeming like he had something up his sleeve. "You thinking what I'm thinking?"

Topanga, Cory, and Eric's eyes widened as they realized what he was implying.

Shawn nodded as he saw that they were catching on, saying, "We should go surprise him during his last class and watch him teach once more before he retires! I bet it would mean a lot to him to have us there during his last class."

"Great idea, Shawn!" Topanga said, springing up from her chair.

Cory rose onto his crutches and began to follow the gang out the door. "Alright, let's go! Off to watch the greatest teacher close out his career!"


	3. Chapter 3

"Ahh, good to be back!" said Cory, entering through the doors of the lounge room of Pennbrook University. Breathing in the strong scent of coffee, everyone sighed in satisfaction as they looked around the room, taking in the familiar sight of laid-back college students huddled around the pool table, sending the billiard balls across the velvet surface with a loud _crack_.

"Seems like only yesterday we were here, huh?" Shawn said with a grin, his eyes scanning the room with interest and remembrance.

"Come on, guys, we gotta get to Mr. Feeny's class before it's over!" Topanga urged, leading the way into the corridors.

A few students were beginning to fill the halls as a couple classes were dismissed earlier than usual, but thankfully, the gang found Mr. Feeny's classroom door still closed. Peering through the window, they saw him bent over his lectern as he flipped through the last of his notes. As he turned to the chalkboard to erase what he had written for the last time, Topanga signaled for them to sneak into the classroom.

Thankfully, Mr. Feeny didn't see them, still occupied in addressing his student's in the final moments of his class.

"Well, thank you all for your effort this summer, and as I have already told you, I will not be back next semester. So, I wish you all the best of luck in your future studies, and have a great school year. Class dismissed."

Before anyone could reach for their book bags and dart out of the classroom, Cory, Topanga, Shawn, and Eric began to loudly clap and cheer.

Mr. Feeny jumped as he heard their applause, then began to beam as he recognized his former students.

"Wooo, Feenay!" Eric yelled, slapping his hands together as he smiled at his teacher.

Their clapping began to cause others to do the same, and soon enough, everyone in the classroom was on their feet, applauding their professor and his work he had accomplished over the last 4 decades.

As applause began to cease and the students began to pack up, many came up front and shook his hand before leaving the classroom. Cory, Topanga, Shawn, and Eric stood off to the side, smiling and appreciating the moment. All their life they had seen their teacher come into the classroom each morning, teach them a lesson, and leave; this time, he was leaving forever.

The last of the students finally exited the classroom, leaving Mr. Feeny and his four, special students alone. Grinning from ear to ear, they each came up to exchange greetings and hugs.

"What a wonderful surprise!" Mr. Feeny said, excited at his pupils dropping by.

"We figured we wouldn't want to miss out on your last class." Shawn said.

"It seemed right to be in your last class when you've been our only teacher all our lives." Topanga said. "We wanted to make sure you knew how appreciated you are."

"Oh, well, thank you all." Mr. Feeny grinned, seeming to be both embarrassed and flattered. "I wouldn't trade those years I spent educating you all for anything."

"Neither would we." Cory said with a soft smile.

The next morning, Cory contentedly sat in the old window seat of his bedroom, watching the gentle glow of the rising sun sneak into the horizon. Birds were beginning to whistle and sing outside, their dark, fluttering silhouettes standing out against the orange backdrop of chemtrails and clouds. A train horn blared out in the distance, like it always did at this time of morning, arising Philadelphians to throw off their bedcovers and began another day.

It felt like only yesterday that Cory was sitting here, waiting for Shawn to appear on his back porch and walk to school with him. He remembered how Mr. Feeny would come outside every morning before leaving for school to collect the newspaper, dressed in his usual sweater vest, coat, and tie as he would look up at Cory's window and give a single wave.

It was odd to think that Mr. Feeny would never do that again.

Cory turned and looked around his old room, beginning to realize how much different it had become since Joshua had moved into it. A crib took up the spot where his bed had been, along with a rocking chair nearby and a toy box filled with an assortment of stuffed animals and other baby delights. Instead of navy-colored, checkered wallpaper, baby blue stripes now covered the walls, along with a few framed pictures of Joshua.

A few feet away from him, Joshua was beginning to become more alert, rubbing his sleepy eyes and pulling himself onto his feet. He let out a loud, happy gurgle as he saw his brother, banging his hands on the edge of his crib in hopes of being taken out.

Cory set his baby brother on the floor, pulling out a few toys and settling down next to him. He smiled to himself as Joshua reached for a stuffed elephant and immediately shoved his over-sized ear into his mouth. At this stage, anything that Joshua could fit into his mouth _was going to go _in his mouth.

"Well, baby bro, I guess I was wrong. Mr. Feeny won't be teaching every grade you'll be in." Cory said, referring to the moment he and Joshua had shared before he left for New York a couple months ago.

Joshua was attentive to Cory as he talked to him, gnawing on the now-slobbery elephant ear as he listened.

"No worries, though!" Cory said with optimism, picking up another stuffed animal and laying it in front of Joshua. "Maybe you'll get a teacher better than Feeny..."

Cory paused thoughtfully, then began to shake his head. "No, there's no one who's better than Feeny..."

That afternoon, the Matthews' driveway was crowded with cars as many attended Mr. Feeny's retirement party. The living room was draped in streamers, banners, and balloons, all donning the colors of John Adams High. Even the cake was frosted with red and gold icing, a photo from Mr. Feeny's first school picture day as a teacher stuck in the middle of the cake.

Many former students, even some who were just slightly younger than Amy and Alan, filled the house, chatting with Mr. Feeny once more. Unfortunately, Jack, Rachel, and Angela were not able to attend, but one old classmate did make an appearance to the surprise of Cory, Shawn, and Topanga.

"Hey, old pals! Long time, no see!" came the voice of Stuart Minkus.

Instead of feeling pleasantly reminiscent and delighted to see him, all they could feel was shock. _Major_ shock.

Minkus no longer had the physical appearance of the tiny nerd they once knew in middle school. In fact, he had actually grown quite a bit since they had last seen him at graduation back in '98. He had lost the thick, circular glasses he used to wear, making him appear much more mature and cooler than they had ever seen him. The only thing that made him recognizable was his blonde hair and high, nasally voice.

"Minkus?" Cory sounded flabbergasted as he faced his old classmate.

"Wow, Stuart!" Topanga said. "You-"

"You don't look like a nerd anymore!" Shawn stated with amusement, rudely interrupting Topanga.

"Uh, thanks, I guess..." Minkus said, shooting a glance at Shawn that made it obvious he was weirded out.

"So," Cory broke the awkward silence that had begun to ruin the reunion. "How've you been, Minkus? What college do you go to?"

"I'm good, thanks. I've been attending Yale for the past few years. Where have you all been?"

"We've been over at Pennbrook, but we just recently moved to New York for a law internship I picked up." Topanga said.

"Ah, for what firm?" Minkus asked.

"Brown-Elliot." Topanga said shortly, a smug look appearing on her face as she felt an old rivalry between the two of them begin to rekindle.

"Mmmhmmm." Minkus reflected on her reply, beginning to seem as if he had a surprise up his sleeve.

"What are you majoring in, Stuart?" Topanga said with an arrogant smirk.

"I am actually working on a master's degree in business." Minkus said smugly. "I'm planning on becoming the CEO of a company, actually, as I'm drawing up my own plans for own at the moment."

Topanga somehow managed to keep her proud smirk on her face after that statement. She gave into defeat with dignity, however, saying, "Fine. You've won this face-off, Minkus, but meet me again in a few years. Maybe you won't be so lucky then..."

Topanga glared over her shoulder at him as she walked away. Suddenly, as if she still needed something to rub in his face, she pulled Cory towards her and said, "By the way: Cory's mine..."

Stuart looked shocked as he saw his former crush hugging Cory, then planting a little kiss on his cheek before stalking off. Yep. He had _definitely_ just gotten owned.

"Yup!" Cory said with his signature, goofy, ecstatic grin on his face. "That's my wife!"

After that tense encounter, Stuart and Cory, Topanga, and Shawn kept their distance from each other for the rest of the party. Instead, they ran across old classmates from John Adams High, such as former girlfriends and boyfriends, and even the pair of school bullies: Joey and Frankie.

As Shawn and Cory noticed the two of them, they jumped backwards, the familiar feeling of intimidation and strong fear filling them again. Thankfully for them, Joey and Frankie hadn't seen them, as they were occupied with eating cake and pointing out old classmates that once served as their objects of harassment.

Backing out of sight of the two, Cory and Shawn cautiously eyed them from the stairwell in the kitchen.

"How much do you wanna bet that their crashing the party?" Cory whispered to Shawn.

Shawn just continued to stare at them for a moment before replying. "20 bucks."

"Deal."

Sure enough, Cory had to fork over twenty dollars later, as Mr. Feeny seemed very surprised to see Frankie and Joey, even denying his inviting them when Cory and Shawn asked him later on.

After awhile, Cory and Topanga thought they had reunited with everyone from John Adams High, even running across Janitor Bud at one point during the party. However, Shawn seemed to be a little troubled over something, as he had frequently looked down at his watch and glanced out the window throughout the party.

"What's the matter, Shawn?" Cory asked, beginning to feel antsy as his friend peered outside for the one-thousandth time.

"I guess he's not coming." Shawn said with an air of disbelief in his tone.

"Who?" Topanga said.

Before Shawn could reply, they all started at the harsh roar of what sounded like a motorcycle coming from the driveway. Shawn threw the window curtains aside again, this time a wide smile taking shape on his lips.

"Well, whaddya know." He said thoughtfully. "He did come."


	4. Chapter 4

Cory and Topanga immediately crowded behind Shawn, trying to get a peek at who he was looking at. They, too, began to smile as they saw Jonathan Turner dismount from his motorcycle Cory.

"Well, if it isn't the old troublesome trio!" Mr. Turner smirked as they all rushed outside to greet him.

While all three were excited to see their former English teacher, Shawn and Mr. Turner seemed most glad to see each other.

"How long's it been, Hunter?" Mr. Turner said, thoughtfully gazing at his former student as he held his motorcycle helmet against his hip. "Since graduation?"

"Heck if I know..." Shawn said as he softly grinned at Mr. Turner. Stepping towards his teacher, the two pulled each other into embrace, patting each other on the back as they were excited to meet once more.

"So," Mr. Turner said once their hug ended, glancing at the three of them. "Hunter, Matthews, Lawrence, how have things been going for all of you?"

"Actually, I'm 'Matthews' now," said Topanga with a smile, putting her arm around Cory. "Cory and I got married last November."

"Oh, well, congratulations!" Mr. Turner said with a grin. "I always felt there was something different about the two of you.."

"Thank you." they said, smiling.

"So, tell me what's been happening, catch me up!" Mr. Turner said as they settled into the chairs on the front porch.

"Well, we all attended Pennbrook University for a couple years, until we moved to New York City back in May for a law internship I picked up at Brown-Elliot." Topanga said.

"Nice work, Topanga," said Mr. Turner with a grin, pleased at the success of his former student. "Cory, what are you up to these days?" He suddenly looked down at Cory's leg, as if he had just noticed the cast on it. "What happened to your leg?"

"Oh, that.." Cory glanced down at his leg, almost forgetting that he had even broken it. "I broke my foot moving some furniture in our apartment. So, I've been out of commission for awhile and haven't been able to do much."

"Hunter, what about you, have you been up to anything lately?" Mr. Turner said.

"Nothing much, I'm sharing an apartment with Cory and Topanga and working a couple part-time jobs."

"Any interests in a career?"

"Actually, I've picked up photography on the side, so I'm hoping that will take me somewhere someday."

"Alright, that's nice, Hunter!" Mr. Turner said. "So, what about your dad? Where's he at right now?"

Shawn suddenly avoided eye contact at the mentioning of his dad, shifting awkwardly in his seat. "Uh, my dad died about a year ago."

"Oh," Mr. Turner said, his face suddenly taking on a look of compassion and solemnity. "I'm sorry to hear that, Shawn."

Shawn just brushed off the situation, shaking his head. "It's alright. I'm fine." He smiled at Mr. Turner. "Our relationship wasn't that great anyways, he hadn't even been back in town for an entire day when he died..." Shawn paused in thoughtfulness, gazing out into space as he remembered the day. "Actually, he was _going_ to move to Las Vegasafter he got out of there..."

Silence occupied the front porch for a moment, as everyone could tell that Shawn was still bitter over the relationship with his dad.

"So, Mr. Turner," Cory said, trying to distract them all from the awkwardness that had come about. "What's been going on with you? We sorta lost connection with you after the accident."

"Just the normal, teaching English and trying to maintain a love life." Mr. Turner announced the last issue with a bit of hopelessness.

"Ahh, you have a lady!" Shawn said, eager at the mentioning of his specialty. "What's she like?"

Mr. Turner shrugged, seeming to have little confidence in his relationship. "It's not worth talking about. I don't think I'll ever be able to have a serious relationship with any woman."

"Why not?" Topanga asked.

"I don't know," Mr. Turner seemed troubled by it, yet a little hesitant to open up. "I get scared at the idea of marriage and all that it brings. I just don't know if I'd be able to stay in one place and start a solid life with a woman."

As he went on, Cory, Shawn, and Topanga began to realize why he never seemed to be able to keep a relationship back when they knew him in high school. "I have this roaming, wild spirit, you know? I'm actually surprised I've stayed in Philly as long as I have."

"You know, Shawn," Mr. Turner continued, "If the situation with you and your father hadn't come along, I probably wouldn't have been in this town and known you guys very well at all today."

Shawn seemed thoughtful as Mr. Turner finished. "Well, that almost makes me glad that my dad went after my mom for so long, now that you've said that."

Mr. Turner lightly chuckled, smiling at Shawn.

After talking with Mr. Turner, Shawn seemed to be uplifted and positive, hanging around him for the rest of the night and catching up. Cory, however, walked away from the conversation feeling discouraged.

It bugged Cory that both Shawn and Topanga had mentioned to Mr. Turner what they wanted to do with their future; Shawn had photography in mind, while Topanga was getting ready to begin law school in nearly a month. Cory, on the other hand, had spent the last couple of months on a couch, nursing a broken leg while his friends pursued their own careers.

Sitting at the kitchen table while picking at a piece of cake, he wallowed in the situation, returning to the feelings he had once felt back after meeting the art prodigy Alexandra Nechita: the feeling of mediocrity. He viewed himself and his future as hopelessly average. He had always felt like a nobody compared to his successful friends, who always seemed to be on top of things and confident in their futures (excluding Eric).

"Honey?" Topanga sat next to Cory, placing her hand on his. "Are you alright?"

Cory sighed, slumping back in his seat. "I don't know."

"Cory, what's wrong?" Topanga began to seem urgently concerned, as he wouldn't tell her what was bothering him.

"Topanga, you have a lot of confidence in your future, right? You're getting ready to go to law school next month. And Shawn, look at him; he's already planning on making photography his career. What am I?" Cory angrily jabbed his fork into his unfinished cake, then leaned back in his chair as he stared into space unsatisfactorily. "I'm a nobody."

Topanga grapsed Cory's hand, staring at him fiercely. "Cory, look at me. You're not a nobody to us."

Before she could continue, Alan's loud voice coming from the living room began to distract everyone. "If I could have everyone's attention, please!"

Alan put his hand on Mr. Feeny's shoulder, patting him on the back as he said, "My good friend George would like to say something to you all before the party wraps up."

Mr. Feeny smiled at everyone before starting his announcement. "Thank you all for attending my retirement party, I have thoroughly enjoyed seeing each and every one of you again. However, I would like to make one final statement before I officially retire."

"When I graduated from college, I had absolutely no idea what I wanted to accomplish in my life. So, I picked up teaching at a local middle school, just to get me started and supply me with some money. However, I almost immediately became entranced by the process of teaching."

"I found that it was quite thrilling to teach others and see my lessons rub off on their minds, as I collected their homework and discovered that what I was teaching them was actually influencing them. I realized very soon that I was so much more than a mere teacher to them; I would be playing a large role not only in their educations, but in their own lives, as education is the solid foundation of one's time here on earth."

"The realization that I would influence their lives caused me to become addicted to teaching, and I have never wanted to change careers since."

"And I hope that my theory is correct; I _deeply_ hope that I have made an impact on your lives in some way, and that I have taught each of you a valuable lesson that will stick with you throughout the rest of your life."

"So, thank you so much, to all of you, because not only have I hopefully changed your lives, you have all changed _my_ life more than you will ever be able to fathom."

Ecstatic applause, whistling, and cheering filled the house as Mr. Feeny concluded his last lesson as a teacher, showing that they all had indeed been changed by their beloved mentor.

It was after Cory heard his speech that he _knew _what he wanted to do with his future.


	5. Chapter 5

Messy traces of the party were left in the Matthews' house that night after everyone eventually said their good-byes to Mr. Feeny and left for home. The sound of spraying water against dirty dishes and the rustle of trash bags being carried throughout the house could still be heard as Amy and Alan cleaned up the results of the festivity downstairs.

In the guest bedroom, the flickering light of the television filled the room as Topanga lay underneath the covers, waiting for Cory to come to bed. Cory was still brushing his teeth, leaning against the doorframe of the bathroom in the guest room and watching the show Topanga had on as he finished.

After Mr. Feeny's speech had concluded, Cory hadn't stopped thinking about the thought that he had been inspired with. _"The realization that I would influence their lives caused me to become addicted to teaching, and I have never wanted to change careers since"_ had been repeating in his head the rest of the night, and he couldn't wait to tell Topanga about his idea.

"You finally done brushing those teeth of yours, slow poke?" Topanga teased as Cory finally turned off the bathroom light and pulled back his side of the bedcovers.

Cory smiled as he stretched his arm over his wife's shoulder, putting his free arm behind his head as he gazed at the TV.

"So," Topanga turned on her side to face her husband, "Was Mr. Feeny's party as great as we always envisioned it to be? I still can't believe he's finally retiring..."

"Yes, it was." Cory said, still smiling as he thought about what he was going to tell Topanga next. "It's even better than I thought it would be, actually."

"How so?" Topanga asked.

"Well, I think it helped me realize what I wanna do with my life." Cory responded. "I want to be a teacher."

Topanga paused as Cory said that, beginning to smile awkwardly as she tried to figure how to respond to him. "A teacher? Really?"

"Yeah, a teacher."

Topanga still seemed unsure of his idea, opening and closing her mouth as she hesitated over what to say to that.

"I'm not kidding, Topanga. I feel like I'm supposed to be a teacher, just like Mr. Feeny."

"Cory, becoming a teacher is not like picking up a job at a fast food place. It's a serious task, and it comes with a lot of responsibility." Topanga said.

"I know that, Topanga, but Mr. Feeny's speech inspired me." Cory said seriously, sounding like he knew what he was talking about. "I feel like this is something that I need to consider, and that _you_ need to consider, too."

"Cory," Topanga sat up as she got more into the conversation, "You would have to go back to school, and right when I'm going into law school as well! I'm not even sure if we could get you into a school on such short notice!"

"What he said about influencing others lives through education, and how he was doing so much more than teaching them spoke to me. I mean, he was right, Topanga; teachers do a lot more than just show you how to understand equations and tell you about people from previous centuries. They prepare you for the future, whether you know it or not."

"Take Mr. Feeny, for example; he didn't only teach us about history, he taught us about life. He taught us lessons that benefited us in the future, and he deserves a lot of the credit for who we are as people today."

As Topanga listened, she seemed to be changing her mind a little as her previously tense facial expression softened into a gentle, understanding look. Perhaps Cory _did_ know what he was talking about.

"I learned from one of the best, Topanga, so why should I let what he has taught me go to waste when I could be sharing it with others? They _need_ to hear what Feeny's taught me, and I would love to help them do so now that he's retired."

Topanga still seemed a little hesitant as he finished. "Are you sure? Have you truly thought this through?"

"I have, Topanga, I truly have." Cory said with a tone full of absolute positivity.

Smiling softly, Topana finally seemed to be warmed up to the idea. "Okay. Why don't you sleep on it, and if you still feel the same way in the morning, we'll tell everyone about it, alright?"

"I have _thoroughly_ thought this through, Topanga. I have my heart set on it now." Cory insisted.

"I know you have, just sleep on it, and we'll see how things are tomorrow." Topanga said, turning off the TV and snuggling down underneath the bedsheets.

The next morning, the first words out of Cory's mouth were, "I still wanna do it, Topanga."

So, as breakfast came around with Mr. Feeny and Lila, the two of them decided that they were ready to tell everyone.

"Are you _sure_ you want to do this, Cory? You're going to have to be committed to this, it isn't a little experiment." Topana asked once more as she hesitated in the living room.

"Yes, Topanga, I'm sure, now come on." Cory said, taking Topanga's arm and trying to lead her into the kitchen.

"Cory," Topanga pulled him back, her tone and facial expression showing that she was still upset. "Im worried. We're only 20 years old, just beginning to get adjusted to our new lives, and now you're taking on the responsibility of becoming a teacher. This is going to be very difficult, I don't know if we can handle it."

"Topanga, listen to me." Cory took both of her hands in his, looking her in the eyes. "Whatever opportunity presents itself, especially one that could benefit us and others, we need to take it and run with it. No matter how hard it is, we can get through it, you know why? Because we have each other's support. And when we are supportive of each other and our decisions, we can accomplish anything we want to."

Topanga gave a pained smile, trying to calm her fears and encourage her husband.

"So, are you on my side, or not?" Cory asked.

Topanga took a deep breath and closed her eyes, then squeezed Cory's hands as she smiled, this time with more confidence. "Alright, I'm with you. I'm on your side."

"Good." Cory said, returning her smile. "We can get through this."

Sharing a brief kiss, they went into the kitchen to find Amy placing a plate of muffins on the table.

"Just in time!" she said, pulling out a couple chairs for the two of them.

Taking their seats, Cory confidently and calmly began his announcement. "Mom, Dad, Mr. Feeny..." Everyone diverted their eyes from their plates, listening as Cory addressed them. "As you all know, I don't have a current career choice, but after hearing your speech last night, Mr. Feeny, Topanga and I have decided that I am going to become a teacher."

Before anybody could say anything, Cory continued. "Now, I know you're all probably thinking that this is just another of my empty dreams, but Topanga and I have thoroughly thought it over. Mr. Feeny, what you said about changing other lives through education by preparing them for their futures inspired me, and it sounded like something I'd like to try to become a part of. After all, I did learn from the best, and I think that the next generation needs to hear about what you've taught me."

Mr. Feeny smiled a smile at Cory that seemed to burst straight from his heart. "Mr. Matthews, that is the best retirement gift that I could ever ask for."

_**This concludes the story, I hope you all enjoyed reading it! Leave a review below telling me what you thought of it, and thank you for taking the time to read **__Farewell, Feeny__**!**_


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